Brighton taxi driver could hold key information surrounding final moments of murdered 21 year old

Sussex police are trying to trace a taxi driver who they believe could help piece together the final moments of a murdered man.

Posters have gone up around Brighton of 21-year-old Albanian Serxhio Marku who was stabbed to death, and police believe he may have been driven by a taxi driver on the day he was killed.

The posters have appeared at East Street taxi rank in Brighton. They appeal for drivers who may have picked up Serxhio – and possibly some friends – and taken them to the Seven Dials area.

The poster says: “He may have used a taxi on Tuesday 10 or Wednesday 11 September.

“Queen’s Square or central Brighton was the likely pick-up point.

“Drop-off location was at Seven Dials.”

Serxhio was found, critically injured, by officers at a ground floor flat in Stafford Road. He died enroute to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday, 11 September. It is hoped that the driver who took Serxhio to Stafford Road may hold information vital to the investigation.

Two Italian kitchen workers from Brighton, charged with murder, were remanded in custody when they appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Monday, 16 September.

Francesco Dagostino, 44, of Stafford Road, Brighton, and Giuseppe Petriccione, 45, of no fixed address, were being held at Highdown Prison in Sutton.

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Geldart said: “I am particularly keen to reach out to Serxhio’s friends in the Brighton area as we know very little about him and we want to find out where he lived and who he associated with locally.

“We believe that he may have travelled from the city to the Seven Dials area, and possibly on to Stafford Road, by taxi during the evening before he was attacked.

“He may have been with two other men and we would like to hear from the taxi driver who carried that fare.

"Specialist family liaison officers are supporting Serxhio’s family, who are mainly in Albania, and our thoughts are with them and his friends.

“I urge anyone with information about the incident, events leading up to it or especially about Serxhio himself, to report online or call 101 quoting Operation Barnfield.”